Chapter 231

Sadie's POV

The look he gave me made my breath catch.

"It was mutual," he said. "The whole time you were crushing on me, I was doing the same thing. Being an idiot. Hoping you'd look at me twice."

"I looked at you way more than twice."

"I know." His smile turned wicked. "Which brings me to something I've been wondering about."

"What?"

"When we first kissed." His eyes dropped to my mouth. "You weren't exactly a beginner. Want to explain that?"

Oh god.

"I don't—that's not—"

"Because I'm pretty sure first kisses aren't supposed to feel like that." He was enjoying this. The bastard. "So either you're naturally gifted, or—"

"I practiced," I blurted out. Then immediately wanted to take it back.

His eyebrows shot up. "Practiced."

"In dreams," I mumbled, wanting to disappear. "I had dreams. About you. And we'd—you know."

"No." His voice dropped an octave. "I don't know. Tell me."

"Jake."

"Tell me what we did in these dreams, Sadie."

"We kissed," I said, face burning. "That's all."

"That's all?"

"Mostly."

"Mostly." He looked way too pleased with himself. "My girlfriend's been having dreams about me. Interesting."

"Stop looking so smug."

"Can't help it." He kissed the corner of my mouth. "You're cute when you're embarrassed."

"I'm not embarrassed."

"You're red as a tomato."

"Shut up."

He laughed, and it was such a good sound. Light and real and happy. Then his expression shifted, got serious again.

"My dad confirmed it," he said. "You can finish the rest of your exchange as a visiting student at Harvard. He’s already reached out to the right people at both schools. Ending the London program early won’t mess anything up—most of your credits should transfer without issue. There’ll be some paperwork, but he’ll help smooth it over."

My heart picked up speed. The idea of going back with him, of actually building something real after everything, felt almost too big to hold. "Okay."

Jake ran his thumb over my knuckles, his gaze steady but soft. For a moment he just looked at me, like he was still making sure I was really here.

"So—" He hesitated, and I realized he was nervous. "Next semester… would you come back with me? I don’t want to do any of this without you anymore."

There was only one answer, and yet the words caught for a second. Three years of missing him, of forcing myself to move forward while carrying the ache of what we’d lost, made this moment feel strangely fragile. Like if I reached for it too fast, it might vanish.

"Yes," I whispered, smiling despite the sudden tightness in my throat. "I want that. I want us."

Relief flooded his face. He pulled me closer, buried his face in my hair. "Stay with me. Don’t go anywhere."

"I won’t." The words came out steady, but inside I still felt the echo of old fear—the fear that something would rip us apart again.

"Promise."

"I promise." Even as I said it, a small, quiet part of me wondered how long it would take for the knot in my chest to fully loosen.

We stayed like that for a while, wrapped in each other, breathing the same air. Then he gently pulled back and looked at me, his expression turning serious and tender all at once. His hand tightened around mine.

"Sadie… I’ve spent the last three years regretting every second we were apart. I don’t want to waste any more time. This time I want to do it right. I want to give you a real future—something solid, something we choose together."

Slowly, he lowered himself onto one knee in front of me, still holding my hand. My breath caught.

“Sadie Brooks,” he said, voice low but steady, eyes locked on mine, “will you marry me?”

Happy tears blurred my vision. For a heartbeat I couldn’t speak—joy and disbelief and the lingering shadow of everything we’d been through tangled together. It felt enormous. It felt right. And it still felt a little unreal.

I let out a soft, watery laugh, nodding before the words could fully form. "Yes," I whispered, then louder, smiling through the tears, "Yes. I’ll marry you, Jake."

He rose and kissed me then—slow and deep and perfect. Like we had all the time in the world now. Like we weren’t going to waste another second.

My phone buzzed on the nightstand. I'd been ignoring it, but when I glanced over, I saw fifteen missed calls from my mom.

"Oh no." I grabbed it. "She's going to kill me."

"Want me to talk to her?"

"No, I—" The phone rang in my hand. Mom's face filled the screen. I answered. "Hi."

"Sadie Brooks." Her voice was sharp with worry. "Where are you? I came back to the flat and you weren't there. You weren't answering your phone—I’ve been losing my mind."

"Mom, Mom, I’m okay. I’m safe, I promise." I took a breath, trying to keep my voice calm. "Jake came for me. A lot happened very fast, and I’m with him in the US now."

Silence stretched for a long second.

"You’re with Jake," she repeated slowly. "In the States?"

"Yeah. We… we worked things out. I told him everything. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner—everything happened so fast, but I’m really okay. Better than okay."

I could almost hear her processing it all—the relief warring with the instinct to worry. "Are you sure you’re safe? No one forced you, nothing—"

"No one forced me. I chose this. I’m with Jake, and we’re… we’re good, Mom. Really good."

She exhaled, the sound shaky. "Oh, honey." Her voice softened. "I’ve been so worried about you. After everything… you deserve to be happy. You really do."

Tears pricked my eyes again. "When are you coming home?"

"Soon. Richard’s wrapping up his business here, and then we’ll head back. Maybe a month?"

"Okay." Relief washed through me. "I miss you."

"I miss you too. And Sadie?" She paused. "I’m proud of you. For being brave enough to let yourself be happy again."

After we hung up, I set the phone down and looked at Jake. He was watching me with that soft expression that still made my heart skip.

"My mom’s coming home soon," I said.

"Good." He pulled me back against his chest. "Then we can do this right. All of us together."

I closed my eyes, letting myself sink into the warmth of him. Outside, the sun climbed higher. A new day. A new start.

Finally.